Evaluation of new :40

[refjeff]

We did our first game with a play clock last night.  Except for one play in the first possession the operator was perfect.

We had three plays where the umpire spotted the ball and walked away with 22-24 seconds on the clock, while the offense was still in the huddle.  I did not take an administrative time out to reset to 25.  We played on without issue or interruption.

[Magician]

We did our first game with a play clock last night.  Except for one play in the first possession the operator was perfect.

We had three plays where the umpire spotted the ball and walked away with 22-24 seconds on the clock, while the offense was still in the huddle.  I did not take an administrative time out to reset to 25.  We played on without issue or interruption.

Sounds like a good first night! Unless the delay somehow disadvantages the offense there is no real reason to reset it even if under 25. The primary example will be if there is a delay in getting the ball spotted for some reason and the offense isn't sure where the ball will be placed. Let's say there is a pass apparently caught near the sideline and the offense thinks it's complete. If there is a delay getting a new ball back to the previous spot and the offense isn't sure whey you are going back to the previous spot. it's fair to reset it to 25 if your delay caused the play clock to get below 25.

[dieter]

Had our first game Friday night with the new 40. The play clock operator just didn't get it. We spent a good amount of time with him during the prelim game explaining things but he struggled all night. I can't figure out what he was looking at. Luckily the game did not come down to any time critical situation at the end or we could have had a bad situation. I hope this is not an indication of things to come here in Illinois.

[refjeff]

If it's 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th down, and the offense runs or passes, and at the end of the down they still have the ball and it will be 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th down again, put 40 seconds on the clock and run it.

If anything else happens put 25 on and wait for the chop.

(I cannot take full credit for this.)

[GA Umpire]

If it's 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th down, and the offense runs or passes, and at the end of the down they still have the ball and it will be 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th down again, put 40 seconds on the clock and run it.

If anything else happens put 25 on and wait for the chop.

      (6 man crew)

[Magician]

If it's 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th down, and the offense runs or passes, and at the end of the down they still have the ball and it will be 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th down again, put 40 seconds on the clock and run it.

If anything else happens put 25 on and wait for the chop.

(I cannot take full credit for this.)

Even simpler. Always put 40 and run it unless something major happens that stops everyone (including scores and change of possession). Then set it to 25 and wait for the R.

[PABJNR]

I’ve been taking the clock operators instructions off of the NFHS site to give to operators prior to the game. We haven’t had an issue.


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[Ralph Damren]

After three games with our invisible play clocks, my opinion....

(1) We have yet to go under 25" before ball is ready for play;
(2) teams have supplied ball boys, but our usage of them is minimal ;
(3) game clock operators have missed a few silent whines on new series but are improving;
(4)snappers have yet to run over umps  ;
(5) chain crews seem to move faster;
(6) less DOGs;
(7) less plays from victory formation needed.

We feared the worst, but are doing our best. 

[FLAHL]

After three games with our invisible play clocks, my opinion....

We feared the worst, but are doing our best. 

Agree Ralph. Last night was our 4th game and it went smoothly.  We haven’t had a visible play clock yet, but I think that will be even better. We’re not getting 2 ball boys and 4 balls from each team, but that hasn’t been an issue - we’re bringing balls in from the LJ side like past years.

[AlUpstateNY]

In Illinois, when we fail to get the ball set by 25 seconds, we are allowed to simply one-arm pump the clock back to 25 and it should start automatically (we'll see) with no administrative stop. We can also whistle/kill, reset to 25, and chop/wind also if we want.

Not surprisingly, that sounds a lot like what was happening before adopting a 40 second routine.  Previously, when a Referee sensed some sort of unanticipated, or inappropriate, delay in getting things ready for his RFP, he simply analyzed the actual situation, and acted accordingly (to what he was observing, rather than some arbitrary universal objective).  Although "consistency" is a valuable and important element in the operation of a specific contest, the further removed we get from a "specific contest" (last week's game, some other contest, handling in a different State, etc.) the less relevant strict adherence to a universal consistency requirement can easily become.

Time will tell whether the 40 second design approach proves to be an effective improvement, or just a different path to chase common existing problems/issues (improved performance & control of ball boys, chain crews, sideline congestion or confusion, etc.) all of which might benefit from individual attention, assessment and remedy.  Let's hope this adjustment proves to be the valuable enhancement intended.

[CalhounLJ]

After four games I absolutely love it. We have a visible clock in all our games and I love that too. 


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[Rich]

After four games I absolutely love it. We have a visible clock in all our games and I love that too. 


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I wish we did.  Our state doesn't want us using them even if the field has them.  Our state final is on a Big Ten field and the play clocks are not used even there.

40/25 is great.  Timers aren't quite used to the silent wind, but they'll get there.

[refjeff]

I wish we did.  Our state doesn't want us using them even if the field has them.  Our state final is on a Big Ten field and the play clocks are not used even there.

40/25 is great.  Timers aren't quite used to the silent wind, but they'll get there.

I'm not quite used to the silent wind.  I've chopped and wound twice in three games.  No harm done, play on.

[Magician]

Not surprisingly, that sounds a lot like what was happening before adopting a 40 second routine.  Previously, when a Referee sensed some sort of unanticipated, or inappropriate, delay in getting things ready for his RFP, he simply analyzed the actual situation, and acted accordingly (to what he was observing, rather than some arbitrary universal objective).  Although "consistency" is a valuable and important element in the operation of a specific contest, the further removed we get from a "specific contest" (last week's game, some other contest, handling in a different State, etc.) the less relevant strict adherence to a universal consistency requirement can easily become.

Time will tell whether the 40 second design approach proves to be an effective improvement, or just a different path to chase common existing problems/issues (improved performance & control of ball boys, chain crews, sideline congestion or confusion, etc.) all of which might benefit from individual attention, assessment and remedy.  Let's hope this adjustment proves to be the valuable enhancement intended.

If you are pumping it back to 25 multiple times per game there are issues with ball mechanics. In our 3 years I think I can still count on one hand the number of times we've done it total. There have been times it was between 20 and 25 but the team is still in the huddle or they are at the LOS ready to snap quickly. We gain nothing by spending time to reset the play clock because the end of the play clock won't come into play. The times you need to reset it will be obvious and something significant happens.

[ucanfindmj]

:40 sec play clock is a terrible idea.  It prolongs the game and puts teams at a disadvantage when facing away from the game clock late in either half when the silent wind is used.  At least with a :25 sec RFP, the QB had an audible notification that the clock was going to start.  Ie.,  Chiefs are in a hurry up to score before the game clock expires.  Facing away from the game clock, The Chiefs complete a first down, in-bounds at the 30 yard line.  With 1.2 secs remaining in the game and no time outs remaining, the R is going to use a silent wind when the chains and crew are set.  How will the QB know when to snap?

This in no way makes a "more consistent period between downs" as described by the powers that be.  If it is to be more consistent with the NCAA rules, then say that, but remember you are trying to adjust for only approx. 6% of high school athletes that go on to play in college.  As it is, you cannot add a new set of rules involving different timing values used at different periods to make "a more consistent period between downs."  That's just insane.

[bawags06]

If it's 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th down, and the offense runs or passes, and at the end of the down they still have the ball and it will be 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th down again, put 40 seconds on the clock and run it.

If anything else happens put 25 on and wait for the chop.

(I cannot take full credit for this.)

I've explained it this way. The play clock will always have 40 seconds on it unless the officials STOP THE GAME for some reason. (Time out, score, penalty enforcement, etc.) We used to say "stop the clock" but if the officials STOP THE GAME, we will start again with 25 seconds. First downs, out of bounds, etc, do not stop the game.

[CalhounLJ]

It most certainly adds consistency to the interval between downs. Everybody involved with it has realized that. I was the biggest naysayer when the rule came out but I would not want to go back to the old way. Ever. All the fears I had were unfounded.  There is no conceivable scenario in which the old way is better than the old.


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[Magician]

It most certainly adds consistency to the interval between downs. Everybody involved with it has realized that. I was the biggest naysayer when the rule came out but I would not want to go back to the old way. Ever. All the fears I had were unfounded.  There is no conceivable scenario in which the old way is better than the old.

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It is kind of hard to explain until you've done. I understand some people have had bigger hiccups than others, but they'll get through those as well. In general the problems I'm hearing are bigger problems with clock and ball personnel which would have exited with a 25-second play clock and those areas probably had great consistency issues than they realized. They looked at consistency from RFP to DOG. It was 25 every time which is true. But it was probably wildly inconsistent from dead ball to RFP.

One thing I read about a lot was how fast the umpire and chain crew were going to have to be. I chuckled because I heard the same thing when we did it in NCAA and then our state experiment. There is a misconception that with a 40-second play clock teams will go so much faster. They may think they will and they will try, but most find out they won't be able to go much faster most of the time. Since this season has started I haven't read any complaints about teams going too fast or umpires not getting out of the way before the snap. I understand where those concerns were coming from, but I also knew from experience they wouldn't be actual concerns.

[CalhounLJ]

Agree. That was my big concern. What I’ve found is that through 4 games we have had the ball spotted and in position before the team could even think of a play to run. The slowest we’ve been spotting the ball was :28 and even then nobody noticed but us.


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[Magician]

Agree. That was my big concern. What I’ve found is that through 4 games we have had the ball spotted and in position before the team could even think of a play to run. The slowest we’ve been spotting the ball was :28 and even then nobody noticed but us.

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People here and other places asked how I made sure the offense didn't snap the ball until I was out of harm's way. I just tell them I'm long gone before they think about snapping. Teams won't be able to go as fast as they think they would like to go. There are times I don't step away until 22 or 23 because I don't HURRY to get the ball spotted. It's usually 28-32 but it will vary beyond that. Especially for the referee they don't have to worry about when to blow the RFP whistle. And now it doesn't matter if I spot it at 35 or 24. The offense still has 40 seconds to get the ball snapped.